Command and Control Schools

Today, I toured a middle school in the region where I live. Listening to an adult school leader explaining the school to me, I heard several the cues that routinely concern me:

• “Our students don’t have problems”
• “We don’t allow students to have social time”
• “There is routine homework in every class, every day, all year long”
• “We maintain strong communication with parents”
• “We have a strong culture of respect for adults here”

These are all signs of a “Command-and-Control School.” These are highly structured, highly demanding and highly adultcentric places featuring rote memorization, rigid adherence to standardized curriculum and gross overcommitment to testing and assessment.

Command-and-Control Schools…

1. Regard students are problems that need to be solved;
2. Think adults have all the answers to solve students-as-problems;
3. Don’t see students as full humans with rights and responsibilities;
4. Disagree with the ability of parents and students to be equitable educational partners

I raise these issues because they are the antithesis of Meaningful Student Involvement. When I began studying schools for signs of student voice in 2000, it took me several years to discern the patterns in which students said learning mattered to them. However, when they came forward, I identified these Frameworks for Meaningful Student Involvement as the keys to moving education forward. They centered on the notion that schools must become places that actively engage students as equitable partners with adults throughout learning, teaching and leadership across the entirety of the education system.

Meaningful Student Involvement Schools…

• Treat students as the problem-solvers of global, local and personal problems today and in the future;
• Foster equitable student/adult partnerships that position everyone, everywhere, all the time as active learners, teachers and leaders, regardless of their age;
• Engage every student as a full human with unique abilities, challenges, opportunities and knowledge;
• Support the entire ability of students and parents to become engaged throughout the entire education system.

What To Listen For

I know I’ve found a school that’s on-point when I hear the antithesis of what I heard today:

• “Our students meet challenges head on with adults who empower and support them”
• “Our teachers work with students pace teaching to meet every student’s learning needs”
• “Students actively engaged in learning throughout their lives, and schools support them where and how they choose to do that”
• “We engage students and parents as equitable partners everywhere, all the time”
• “We have a strong culture of mutual respect among students, between students and teachers, and throughout our learning environment”

When I hear those things, I hear meaningfulness.

I have been writing about whole school approaches to Meaningful Student Involvement lately – I’d love to hear what you think.